The Cartographers’ Guild is a forum created by and for map makers and aficionados, a place where every aspect of cartography can be admired, examined, learned, and discussed. Our membership consists of professional designers and artists, hobbyists, and amateurs—all are welcome to join and participate in the quest for cartographic skill and knowledge.

Although we specialize in maps of fictional realms, as commonly used in both novels and games (both tabletop and role-playing), many Guild members are also proficient in historical and contemporary maps. Likewise, we specialize in computer-assisted cartography (such as with GIMP, Adobe apps, Campaign Cartographer, Dundjinni, etc.), although many members here also have interest in maps drafted by hand.

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Howdy.

Hey everyone,

Somehow I stumbled onto your fantastic forum here after downloading some maps from fantasymaps.wordpress.com. And let me tell you, having only seen a couple pieces so far (including Rob's mind-numbingly amazing creations for his invented world), I'm happy to be here!

As for me, I've been fascinated with map for as long as I've been involved with RPGs, starting back in elementary school with Final Fantasy 2 (IV) on the Super NES. Reading the Lord of the Rings only worsened my problem. Well, to be more specific, reading Tolkien's vast appendixes only worsened my problem.

The level of detail he put into his world mesmerized me; I thought it was the coolest thing ever (still do). At the time, I hoped to one day create a world of my own with that much depth (still do).

Nowadays, I am constantly tinkering away at a fantasy world of my own making, still hanging doggedly onto the dream of a fully functioning world to set my own adventures in. To be honest, while certain core concepts remain the same year in and out, there are major revisions that come down the pike every year or so, especially in the area of the world's geography.

So, I'll soon be posting some manner of an introduction to the "Umbraland" and my cartographic goals, but for the time being, I'll finish out my introduction with one of the two general styles of maps I'm working on. This would be the typical "fantasy" style of an old and worn map, but I'm aiming for an especially worn look. While obviously and apparently incomplete, I'm at a point where I am happy with the general look of the paper texturing, folds (mostly), and edge crinkling (though I need to smooth out the transitions / borders in some places). Past that, weathering to the "ink" and color still needs to be applied, and the actual design of the map itself is still very much up in the air (ergo the absolute lack of content - the nation labels were there for an experiment in gold leaf, which didn't turn out as well as I would have liked).

But it's a start. There'll be more to come, and I'm very much looking forward to getting to know you all!

Just a minor quibble with your map: the names look superimposed on the map... It lacks a certain je-ne-sais-quoi to make it look like it's actually written on the map.

Otherwise, very, very well done. That parchment looks awesome.

Yeah, as I mentioned in the OP, the names where tossed on for an experiment in recreating gold leaf which didn't look too great. So, left them for the time being to combine that image with my separate parchment .psd.

Really, the only thing complete about the map is the parchment / texture, so thanks for the compliment on it!